The Royal Australian Navy clearance diver and Chief Petty Officer is a member of a specialised investigation team at Multi-National Base Tarin Kot in Afghanistan.

It spearheads a potent capability for the Australian Defence Force.

Chief Petty Officer Oaklands and his colleagues on the Weapons Intelligence Team analyse components from improvised explosive devices to trace those responsible for the weapons, enabling the force and its coalition partners to work out the best ways of countering the threat.

“Almost every day we encounter a new improvised explosive device and the work we do to defeat them makes things safer for soldiers and civilians in Uruzgan and Afghan-istan,” he said.

Procedures for clearing roads, bridges and paths of bombs throughout Afghanistan are constantly evolving to counter the latest threat, thanks to the int- elligence gained by the team.

Its members are also helping track down those responsible for the bombs.

“We are like the CSI team on television or any forensics crime team back in Australia – we go out to the crime scene where the bomb was laid, we dust the componentry for fingerprints and test for DNA to trace those responsible,” he said.

About 1550 force personnel are serving in Afghanistan in the international campaign against terrorism.

Chief Petty Officer Oaklands joined the navy 26 years ago to see the world.

“It was also the era before the navy paid off its big destroyers and some of the cooler aspects of the uniform, such as the bell-bottom pants. I thought that stuff was pretty sexy and I wanted to be part of it,” he said.

Originally, he joined as a radio operator, but after six years he became a clearance diver.

He is usually based at Port Kennedy near Perth, but when he comes home in May, he plans to visit Port Pirie.

“My sister and my wife’s family are all still in Port Pirie so I get back there as much as I can,” he said.

“I love the unique things about South Australia, stuff like fritz and Golden North icecream. It has been a while since I was last home so I am particularly looking forward to catching up with my sister and all her news over a few beers at the Portside Tavern.”